Moss Berry: A Small Red Round Berry | University College of the North

Editorial Note

“Moss Berry: A Small Red Round Berry” is a lyric poem rooted in the sensory and relational experience of harvesting moss berries on the land. As a contribution to this special issue on Land-Based Teaching and Learning, the poem enacts what it describes: knowledge passed down not through instruction alone, but through doing- through cold boat rides, Kokom’s voice, and hands learning to pick carefully along a rocky shoreline. The land here is not backdrop but teacher, and the berry is not simply food but a vessel of memory, belonging, and intergenerational connection.

A small red round berry,

so small, yet so powerful-

packed with vitamins and minerals,

nourishment from the land.

A small red round berry

that carries memories

of my upbringing.

Long, cold boat rides nor

th with family

to gather the small red round berry.

The motor pulsing through my head,

humming across the water.

Waves splashing the side of the boat,

reaching up to my face.

Cold fall wind

brushing my cheeks

as I think of

the small red round berry.

We pull up to rocky islands

-moss, pine trees,

and the quiet breath of the land-

searching for the small red round berry.

Kokom hands out pails,

reminding everyone

to be safe.

I sit by the shoreline,

waves touching the rocks,

carefully picking

the small red round berry.

The smell of earth

fills my nose-

a reminder

that we belong

to the land

and the water.

Connected.

I have gathered

the small red round berry

many times.

So bitter,

so sour-

and yet

so sweet.

A taste of memory,

a taste of home.

A small

red

round

berry.

About the Author

Jasmine Dumas is a dedicated mother to a two-year-old boy and a proud member of the O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation. Currently enrolled at the University College of the North in Thompson, Jasmine is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree with plans to enter the Education Kinanow Program afterward.

Having grown up in the North, Jasmine cherishes her time on the land, seeing it as a vital way to de-stress and foster her connection to nature. She frequently returns to the outdoors, often bringing her child along to experience the beauty of the North together. Jasmine’s love for her homeland and commitment to education reflect her deep roots and aspirations for her family and community.

Editor's Remarks

Jasmine Dumas’s poem, “Moss Berry: A Small Red Round Berry,” quietly illustrates the key principles of land-based pedagogy, emphasizing that harvesting extends beyond gathering food. Through the repetition of the phrase “a small red round berry,” the author establishes a meditative structure that reflects the act of picking-patient, deliberate, and returning to the same gesture with increasing significance. The word “Connected,” positioned alone at the center of the poem, serves as a profound pedagogical statement, encapsulating in one phrase what many academic texts struggle to convey. Kokom’s role-distributing pails and ensuring everyone’s safety-anchors the poem in the relational ethics of land-based learning, where knowledge is transmitted through relationships and care. This is a mature and poignant piece of work. (Dr. Ying Kong)